Senator Ben Sasse is the latest in a growing list of congressional republicans being censured by their GOP back home. Nor is it the first time for him. In 2016, Nebraska GOP censured Sasse for “not being supportive enough of Trump.”
This time it’s because Ben Sasse, in concert with four other GOP senators, voted to go ahead with the second Senate Impeachment trial for Trump. As the Washington Post reported:
Because of that, the Nebraska Republican Party’s State Central Committee has drafted a lengthy resolution of censure against Sasse and plans to formally censure the senator at its Feb. 13 meeting, according to News Channel Nebraska.
By way of response to the latest accusations, Ben Sasse chose to record a five-minute video.
National Review provided a summary of Ben Sasse’s statement:
“What Americans saw three weeks ago was ugly shameful mob violence to disrupt a constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress to affirm that peaceful transfer of power,” Sasse says. “It happened because the president lied to you.”
Sasse continues:
He lied about the election results for 60 days, despite losing 60 straight court challenges — many handed down by wonderful Trump-appointed judges.
He lied by saying that the vice president could violate his constitutional oath and just declare a new winner.
He then riled a mob that attacked the Capitol — many chanting “Hang Pence.”
If that president were a Democrat, we both know how you’d respond. But, because he had “Republican” behind his name, you’re defending him.
Their article also includes a transcript of the Nebraska GOP’s censure motion which includes:
Whereas, on 8 January 2021, as reported by Lexi Lonas, of The Hill (‘Sasse says Trump was “delighted” and “excited” by reports of Capitol riot’), during an on-air radio interview with Hugh Hewitt, Senator Sasse stated: “As this was unfolding on television, Donald Trump was walking around the White House, confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited as he was, as you had rioters pushing against Capitol Police trying to get into the building,”Sasse asserted of President Trump “He was delighted” [about the riot.]
and this:
Whereas, on 15 October 2020, Sen. Ben Sasse eviscerated President Trump during a phone call with constituents, in which the Nebraska Republican accused the president of cozying up to dictators, mistreating women, flirting with white supremacists, and irresponsibly handling the corona virus pandemic.
It’s rare enough these days that any member of the Republican Party tells the truth. That those who do are then punished for it by their party, is the final stroke in the GOP’s embrace of sedition.
Why is Ben Sasse still a member of the Republican Party? Maybe it’s because he still clings to some delusions. In their report, the Lincoln Journal Star noted:
“We still agree on some big things,” Sasse said in his video. “Rule of law, constitutionalism, limited government, unlimited human potential, extending the American dream to more of our brothers and sisters.
After so much honest criticism, Ben Sasse couldn’t be more wrong here. The current noxious variant of the GOP – in the final stages of degenerate decay – is vehemently against the Rule of Law, the US Constitution, the American Dream for anyone but themselves. They do still believe in limited government but only in so far as it refers to a republican dictatorship.
The Washington Post report included others who have recently fallen foul of GOP state and local branches.
Those who have doubled down on their criticisms of Trump have faced repercussions from their own state or local party apparatuses. The Arizona Republican Party last month censured Gov. Doug Ducey, former senator Jeff Flake and lifelong Republican Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain.
GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who started the Country First PAC over the weekend to challenge the Republican Party’s embrace of Trump, was censured Thursday by his county GOP. The Scotts Bluff County Republican Party also censured Sasse on Thursday.
Rep Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) deserves a mention for praiseworthiness in that he and fellow GOP Rep Fred Upton (MI-06) were the only two House republicans to vote for impeaching Trump and to censure Marge Greene (Q-Ga).
Ben Sasse got a double whammy with his county branch also moving to censure him. But as Cindy McCain declared, censure by the GOP is a “badge of honour.” Former Senator Jeff Flake agreed and went one better: he tweeted a picture of the three of them – himself, Cindy McCain and Doug Ducey – at President Biden’s inauguration saying he was in “good company.”
Good company pic.twitter.com/1pdgVGE5Ps
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 24, 2021
They get it – but how many more in the party get it is hard to determine. There’s a ripple of fear running through the GOP. Too many are too scared of going public with their criticisms and concerns. The 145-61 vote for Liz Cheney among House GOP indicates that a secret ballot may be the only way to get close to that number.
The party really is determined to destroy themselves. There is no rationality left. Censure the only people still loyal to what you supposedly stood for, that’s the ticket.
Yep. That’s exactly what they’re doing. But they’re so far gone, they can’t see the irony in it.
“Sen. Ben Sasse eviscerated President Trump during a phone call with constituents, in which the Nebraska Republican accused the president of cozying up to dictators, mistreating women, flirting with white supremacists, and irresponsibly handling the corona virus pandemic.”
So where the lie?
No lies there that I can see.
Memo to Ben Sasse and all other censured Republicans: it’s time to leave. Even if Trump got convicted tomorrow, the damage has hit the FUBAR stage. Get with Lincoln Project and figure out another party. Because this one’s finished.
Pretty much my thoughts, exactly. Right now, they are politicians without a party. I respect their integrity and refusal to bow to Trumpism. Forming their own party is the only way out of this mess.
I’ve started wondering if they’re hoping Trump will form his own party so those like Sasse get to keep the party name. There was a move in that direction but Trump quit at the last minute. I’m guessing it’s because someone told him that carving out a section of the GOP for himself would reduce the number he ends up with. It’s a damn shame because it would’ve been great theatre watching who jumped into the Trump party and who stayed behind!
It won’t happen.
The GOP brought this ALL on themselves a decade ago when they caved to the Tea Party lunatics. Because THAT group initially threatened to primary any GOPer who wasn’t sufficiently right-wing nutcase for their taste and then bolstered the threat to abandon the GOP and form its own party after state GOP leaders were keeping the Tea Party-backed candidates from getting on the state ballots, national GOP leaders (including Yertl the Turtle McConnell) caved and forced states which hadn’t held primaries at that point to accept candidates (especially those with Tea Party endorsements) for their ballots and the national Party started pushing their handful of moderate candidates start openly pushing the Tea Party line (the national Party had already begun doing so) solely in order to keep these far-right extremists from actually forming their own party and possibly cratering the GOP’s chances for 2010.
The GOP basically sold what little soul it had in order to keep a lunatic fringe voting for the GOP. Unfortunately, the GOP that came after started tilting even further to the far right and the lunatics. (Granted, it wasn’t really the first time. After Reagan was elected in 1980, the liberal branch of the party–and, yes, there were “liberal Republicans,” mostly from New England–started being winnowed out; three decades later, it was the time for the moderate branch to start being winnowed out. Guess where most of the moderate GOPers hail from?)
You speak of the party, Joseph, but I’m speaking to the individuals. The reason why I’m doing that with the latter is that they can leave or it can collapse under their feet. The first one is an easier thing to come back from.
Totally agree.
Ms. Dale, shame on you, you misspelled GQP! The republican party has become the Guilty Q-NUT Party!!
Oh darn it, so I did! My apologies. It should indeed be GQP… or QOP… I’ve seen both and I’m not sure which one to go with!
I favour QOP as “Q’s Own Party”
Oh yeah, I LIKE that!
For the letter G I’d use a different word but I’m feeling a bit like my old self (pre-Trump years) and will be a nice guy to friends who are people of faith and not use it
Another example of “Everything Trump touches dies.” Usually, it’s people. This time it’s an entire political party.
I believe a very insightful young jew noted a long time ago, when you blindly follow a blind man, you both end up in the ditch.
Mr. Standup guy…ben. Voted to acquit frump 1yr ago today. No witnesses, no trial. Blank check. Voted 92% of time with frump. Sorry bennie. You match a joke i saw in Mad magazine years ago. It showed a hotdog standing at a mailbox reading a card from the mail. It said, “you may already be a weiner.” Hey ben. Does 500,000 preventable deaths keep u up at night?